Editing Communist Party USA (section)

===Second World War===
The CPUSA was initially opposed to U.S. involvement in the [[Second World War]] but changed its position after [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] attacked the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]. 15,000 party members fought against [[fascism]] during the war. While many communist men were fighting in the war, women increased their share of leadership in the party and four women were elected to the National Committee.

In 1943, Communist [[Peter V. Cacchione]] was elected to City Council in the [[State of New York|New York]] municipal elections. At the same time, [[Benjamin J. Davis Jr.]] became the first Black communist to be elected to public office. By 1944, the party had 80,000 members.

General Secretary [[Earl Browder]] made an opportunist error and assumed that the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|United Kingdom]] and United States would support the communist movement because they had agreed to help the Soviet Union in the war.<ref>{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Communists in the War (1941-1945)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-twenty-nine-communists-in-war.html}}</ref>